New law authorizes administrative fines extension and expansion (2014)

January 23, 2014

On January 13, 2014, the Commission approved final rules to extend through 2018 the agency’s Administrative Fines Program (AFP) for late filing and failure to file FEC reports. The rules implement legislation enacted on December 26, 2013, that gave the Commission authority to extend the program and to expand it to cover certain reports not previously subject to administrative fines. The Commission plans to address the possible expansion in a future rulemaking.

Initially authorized on a trial basis by 1999 amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act, the AFP enables the Commission to assess civil money penalties for political committees that fail to file their regular financial reports on time or at all, and for campaign committees that fail to file 48-hour notices of large last-minute contributions received. 2 U.S.C. §437g(a)(4)(C); 11 CFR 111.30 to 111.46. Congress has extended the program several times over the years, with the current extension covering reports that disclose activity through December 31, 2018. The Commission’s revised rules implement this extension and also, for the first time, permit payment of administrative fines by methods other than check or money order. See 79 Fed. Reg. 3302 (January 21, 2014).

Though not included in this rulemaking, the recent legislation also authorized the Commission to expand the scope of the AFP to include the following categories of reporting violations:

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This information is not intended to replace the law or to change its meaning, nor does this information create or confer any rights for or on any person or bind the Federal Election Commission or the public.